Beyond The Page
by Lazorrock
Summary: An AU to The Magical Bond Between Two Hearts, with a totally different take. Lucy is a young artist who is torn between her dreams and beliefs in stories, and the responsibility that awaits her when she is soon to be married. But when one day she meets the mysterious Guardian of the Forest, the world she knew is suddenly about to change. Rated T for Violence and Language.
1. An Artist's Story

**A/N: **May I present my first AU Wreck-It Ralph fan fiction: **Beyond The Page**! Since this is my first time writing something like this, I have only this idea that came to mind while reading some other AU fan fictions and based off an oc sketch I have done in the past. Basically this is kind of like the story **The Magical Bond Between Two Hearts**, only this time I'm telling it in a completely different way. On a note: there are characters in this that I have not put in the other fan fiction. So if you are confused as to who they are don't worry. For me to write two stories at once: it would be a hassle.

If you do have questions about this, please feel free to ask me because I know that this is different for me to do another fan fiction when I'm barely working on one already.

So without any further a due, I present this first chapter to Beyond The Page.

Beyond The Page

Chapter 1: An Artist's Story

_My name is Lucille Lily Tate. I am about 23 years old. My profession is in creating art for others._

My hand stopped, trying to figure out what to write next. To me writing a journal was hard, unlike painting or sketching.

_My friend Daisy suggested that I write a journal to keep for my personal uses. I don't know why she would suggest something like this, but if it's for my own peace of mind..._

I racked my brain to try and find the words. I cursed myself for my stupidity in writing.

_...then I guess this will have to do. To start, my life was lived poorly, but richly. My father was an owner of the very much used train station named Tate Central. My mother was an artist teacher who taught younger children. She was the one I looked up most to. My mother was the one who taught my first art lessons when I was one five. When I was a kid my mother would always give up hours, even __**entire days**__, to spend time with me. What I loved most about my mom was that she would take me to the beach every summer. We would walk along the sands in our bare feet, the waves of the sea lapping against our toes. And at night, my mom and dad would sit on the back porch of the summer house watching me catch as many fireflies from the forest as I could. I wished that these good moments in my life would last forever._

The thought of my mother hit me like a thousand daggers at my heart. But I had to keep writing.

_When I was 12, my father died in an accident that involved one of the runaway trains. At his funeral many flowers were given to him. The men who worked for him would say great things about him like: "A good man he was. The best man I ever knew. Mr. Tate was the greatest man who ever lived." My mother was devastated of the loss. She would cry for days, not going to work. Soon she stopped taking me to my favorite places. I walked along the beach alone sometimes in the evenings wondering if my mom would ever come back. _

_A few months later she had become ill with a sickness in her heart. She told me that she would never go outside for a long time. I couldn't stop crying. I cried until the tears ran dry._

I couldn't write anymore. Talking about my mother's permanent illness was something that I tried not to do. _"What were you thinking Daisy? Trying to get me to be miserable again?! I don't think so!"_

Determined to get this over with, I continued.

_I was basically alone, put out on the streets of Arcadian City with no friends or relatives to support me. So I did what no teen had done before: I drew pictures for a living. _

_Everyone thought me strange that I would be working at such a young age. No one came to see my artwork, or buy them. It was tough to find money to pay for food for me and my mother. But one day a boy came by and saw my sketches. The boy thought that I was really good and bought a few of them, giving my mother and I food for a week. The boy told me that his father was an art professor at a school called Maic University. The professor saw me as an opportunity to teach and make better as a professional artist. He told me that he once knew my mother, and that she was one of the kindest students that he had ever had the pleasure of teaching. _

_The professor and his son took me in. I studied there for the next 7 years being taught to read, write, and create better art. I improved so much on my art in fact, that most of the students at the university __**bought**__ some of my pieces I had made. _

_When I had finally graduated at the age of 19, I moved on to continue with my work, opening a shop in downtown Arcadian City. I named it __**Sophie's Art**__, after my mother, because she was the one who inspired me to be an artist. I stayed, selling art to people, all the way to... _

I stopped with the pencil hovering over the last sentence. Looking around my art studio and bedroom, I was disappointed to see that there was still no people coming this afternoon. Earlier I noticed that today seemed a little different than yesterday. Yesterday there were customers coming to our house every which way. Now it was like a ghost town. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough money to pay for a hearty dinner. Then I remembered what day it was: the day of the engagement party.

With nothing better to do, I kept writing.

_I met Daisy about 6 months after opening __**Sophie's Art**__. She was indeed a strange character. She could not understand the paintings that I painted, nor the sketches that I drew. We became friends right then. She told me of her life: she had a husband named Tucker, but he preferred to be called Archer. Rumor has it that he competed in the Olympics and won gold in Archery, hence the name Archer. They have a few children, whom I've mostly met. _

_The youngest of them is a girl named Natalie. No matter what her parents did, they could not understand why her natural hair color was blue. She grew attached to me as soon as I walked through Daisy's front door for the first time. Once Daisy took Natalie with her to see me at work. They spent the whole day with me because Natalie would be transfixed in amazement at all of the artwork I have. _

_Garren is the second oldest child. He looks up to his father like an idol, and spends days in the backyard shooting arrows from his homemade bow at a target trying to make a bulls eye. He told me when I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up: "I want to become an Olympic archer just like my dad!" _

_There is only one child that I have not formally met yet..._

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden sound at the door. I peered slowly out of the nearest bedroom window closest to the front door of the house. To my disappointment there was no one outside, forcing me back to my writing.

_...her name I think was Vanellope. Daisy told me that she was adopted by her and Archer when her parents had tragically died. Hearing this from Daisy, my first thoughts were about how my parents died the same way. I only saw Vanellope once. One day I was just about leaving Daisy's place, when I saw a little girl race past me. She had her black, raven hair pulled back in a ponytail under a hoodie she wore over her face. She raced past me so fast that this was all I noticed about her. I asked Daisy when I came back the next day and she told me that she was their oldest child. _

_"When do I get to meet her?" I asked. She told me that Vanellope was someone that you don't see until she introduces herself to you. So I have yet to meet her._

A louder sound at the door made me jump from my desk. Looking up, it was only my mother that stood in the door to my room.

"It's just me dear." she said softly, her voice having grown weak since her illness.

"Hi mom." I replied smiling, "Did you need anything, or are you okay?"

"Oh I'll be all right. Don't concern yourself about me. You know if you don't get ready in time you're going to miss the engagement party."

"I will mom, I just need to finish something." I said warmly.

"All right then, you better make it quick." Mom shut my bedroom door softly with a click.

I sighed, looking out the window in front of my desk. Outside I could feel the wind from the sea blowing on my face, a salty smell came to my nose. Just before the sea outstretched a wide canvas of forest of all different kinds of trees. I then suddenly had an idea. I kept writing now feeling confident it would turn out well:

_A few years later I had to give up my artist business in Arcadian City, as well as turn over a new manager to run Tate Central Station as well. We moved out here to the summer house in the country so that mother could get more fresh air to help her illness. She said that she had been here before when she was about my age. When I was little, my mother would tell me stories about the adventures she had in the forest next door to the house. She told me stories of how once the people of Arcadian City and in Maic had special powers to call their own, and that now we had forgotten how to find them. There was also a legend to the forest where we reside in now and says this: Legend has it that a Guardian of the Forest lives there to protect the forest from any harm, no matter if it be creature or man. Or at least that's what I remember of it. _

_The people in the small town of Maic that we moved into did not believe that the stories mother told them were real. _

_But I believed every word of it. _

_Even after my mother could not take me to the beach anymore, I still loved her with a deep love from my heart. My mother was the one that took care of me and made my life happy. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost her._

I unexpectedly felt a tear run down my face. Swiping it away from my face, I proceeded to finish the entry:

_Today is the engagement party of me and my fiancée Shane. We met one day while I was taking a lonely walk on the beach. The first time he spoke to me, he said I was the most beautiful flower that bloomed on the sparkling sea. We had been together ever since_.

And yet...I feel as if something in my heart is telling me different. As if my heart wants me to go another way.

And with that, I closed the journal that lay in front of me. Quickly I changed out of my paint-dried artist clothes to a dress that Shane had bought me a few days before. It was a slim blue sky dress that shimmered like the sea, with a hair clip that had the shape of a seashell. Shane said to me that when the party came, I would shine brighter than any other star that night.

Now as I stared into the mirror at the sight of me wearing this dress, I came to regret that I was to wear such a dress. To me, the polka-dot summer dress was enough to impress even the most stubborn guests there.

"But Shane is always controlling me, even if he says he does it out of love!"

I only wanted to be free. Free to paint and draw; free to take happy walks on the beach and take care of my ill mother. Free to walk and explore the forest.

The forest.

This made me think of the memory of when my mother and I first moved in permanently to the house. As I stared into the forest for the first time since I was a child, I noticed something rather odd.

A figure watching from a distance.

It scared me the first few days. But then my curious nature got the best of me, and I became intrigued with the mysterious figure watching. For days and weeks I would find myself sketching the figure in my drawings. Only the figure was always so far that he was just a shadow.

For a while I stayed up on the roof of the summer house, trying to get a better glimpse of this figure. Yet the more I stayed there, the more the figure's shadow grew blurrier everyday in my drawings.

"Lucy!" I heard my mother faintly calling.

"Coming Mom!" I shouted through the door.

Reluctantly I put on the dark blue heels that went with the over impressive dress. It took me a lot of effort to leave my room and come down the stairs to the front door. My mother was there with a little blanket draped over her nightgown she wore mostly now.

"Oh my! Lucy...you look _beautiful_."

I blushed at my mother's comment. She always made me feel bashful whenever I wear something beautiful.

"Mom. I really don't want to wear this dress, I want to wear my summer dress."

My mom gazed at me with a dreamy look. She sighed, then walked to me and took my hand.

"I know you do dear, but Shane said that..."

"I know." I responded glumly.

I looked up to see my mother smile weakly, "But if you want to...then put it in your bag, and keep it secret. Shane will never know."

"Thank you mom." I gave her a warm hug. She returned it with her frail arms wrapped softly around me.

I quickly ran up to my room and put the green polka-dotted summer dress and the golden flats that went with it into my bag. Slinging it over my shoulders I stumbled again down the stairs in my heels back to the front door.

"Well, gotta go. I will see you tonight!" I quickly opened the door and strode across the yard. I looked back to see my mother waving goodbye. I waved back, then turned onto the path that lead to Maic, the same town where I studied at the art university with my professor.

As I made my way, I stopped for a moment to look again into the forest. To my disappointment there was no one there today. Now I regretted more than ever of going to the party.

I made the last few stretches of the path to the town, waiting to see what was in store tonight. Hoping that I would survive that was.

**A/N:** And so comes the end of Chapter 1. Please tell me what you think and leave reviews, I love getting feedback. Until next time, see you guys next chapter!


	2. The Stranger in the Forest

**A/N**: Here it is, Chapter 2! As soon as I finished writing the first chapter, I immediately starting writing the next one. I just couldn't wait to get more into it. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Wreck-It Ralph characters belong to Disney, I do not own the rights. The ocs in this fiction (Lucy, Natalie, Shane, etc.) belong to me.

Beyond The Page

Chapter 2: The Stranger in the Forest

The girl has seen me so many times. She is not an ordinary girl from the town, she is something much more than the girls I see in their human town. The humans in the town are ruthless and greedy beings that do anything to get their way, but the girl was not like that. Every day and night since she came I would watch over the girl as she does what any human does in their world. I always had to hide myself from her whenever I get too close to her or stare at her for too long. I wanted to turn from them, they are humans after all and I have no care for them. But this one girl...she was different from the rest. I found myself returning more and more to where she lived. I tried to resist this by distancing myself farther away from her than I did the day before. Each day she came out less and less to find me, and I thought this was the end of my troubles.

I was wrong.

This did not stop me. The humans are a vile race but the girl keeps bringing me back.

Today I saw her in the afternoon walking away from home and to the small human town beyond it. I made sure to hide in the shadows so that she wouldn't see me. She then looked into the forest as if she was expecting something to appear. She stood there for one moment, then defeated she walked away. As I watched her go I could not figure out what she was looking for. That was when I realized the one she was looking for was _me_.

I must know tonight. I must know who this girl is that is greatly affecting me.

_Who are you?_

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Standing before the party guests outside the apartment building of the Nicelanders, I felt sick to my stomach with all of them watching me.

_"This is the worst feeling that I've ever experienced." _I thought as I stared into the crowd, holding my hand in Shane's.

"Thank you all for coming out to the party tonight!" Shane's voice boomed over the crowd, "Tonight we celebrate the joining of this beautiful girl Lucy, and myself. Ever since I met her for the first time, when I saw her paintings and recommended her to my father's school, she was a gem that was dug from the recesses of Arcadian City. And now we are grown up, and love each other more than ever! Though my father did not live to see us grow happily together, I'm sure that he would be very proud of us. So this is to my father, for bringing us together in true love!"

The audience applauded in loud cheers. My face felt so red hot that I thought I was going to fall ill any second. Shane turned to me smiling, presenting a small box for me.

"Open it." he told me.

I obeyed and lifted the lid. Inside there was a big ring, a diamond in the center. Shane took the ring out and put it on my finger. I managed a smile so he knew that I was happy. We turned to face the crowd as they applauded us again.

"Thank you Shane." I whispered to him.

He gave me a small wink to the side sending a shiver through me.

After that the party did not seem as bad as it was standing in front of all the party guests. Looking around I saw people talking and talking to each other. The voices echoed in my head making me feel dizzy. _I wish my mom was here._

"Miss Tate! Miss Tate, over here!"

I turned to see who was calling out to me. To my delight it was only Felix Jr., the man who had taken over the business of Tate Central when I moved to the summer home. I scuttled over to him being careful to avoid bumping into others. When I finally reached him I beamed at him with a small smile.

"It's good to see you again Felix." I said giving him a warm hug.

"It's good to see you too." he replied returning the hug.

"How are things at my father's business?" I asked releasing him.

Felix smiled, "Things are going smoothly. There's no need to worry ma'am."

"Good." I sighed, "I wish I didn't have to be here tonight. To be honest I'd rather be at home painting." I giggled.

"You really do love to paint Miss Tate." Felix chuckled.

"Felix, you can just call me Lucy." I said warmly.

"Oh no ma'am! You are my leader and I will call you by what I called your father. It's no trouble really." Felix responded.

I sighed heavily, drawing my head towards a near window in the room.

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh no I'm okay." I replied, "How is your wife?"

"Oh Tammy is just fine." Felix responded, "Our anniversary is coming up you know. And I was wondering if you would care to come to the party with Shane. I'm sure he would be thrilled to come."

"I'll...talk it over with Shane then and I'll let you know." I hesitated and looked out towards the balcony window again.

"Great!" Felix beamed drawing my attention back to him. I felt very dizzy from being inside so long. _I have to get out of this stuffy penthouse. _

"Well, I should step out for some fresh air. It was nice to see you again Felix." I walked towards the window that led to the balcony.

"Make sure to be back soon, you and Shane still have the toast to do yet." Felix called.

I nodded, heading towards the balcony that led into the cold evening air. I put my arms down against the railing and looked out into the distance. From the balcony of the apartment building, I could see the summer house from where I stood. The beach seemed farther away than when I stood on the roof of the house. But the forest was still close, and no matter where I was it always seemed to follow me.

_Watching me._

_"This isn't what I dreamed to be doing."_ I thought glumly,_ "I want to be free as a bird. I don't want to be locked up in a cage waiting for a better life to find me. I want to find..."_

I stopped myself, realizing that I was again thinking of finding the figure I've seen multiple times in the woods. _What was it that made me think of this figure so much?_

"Lucy!"

I turned and found myself bombarded by the hugs of Daisy's two kids Natalie and Garren. I laughed and returned the surprise hug right back, clutching them tightly against me.

"Hello you two rascals!" I teased, "Come to see Auntie Lucille at the most **boring** party in the universe?"

We all laughed in unison, knowing that this was indeed true.

"Lucy! It's good to see you." came the voice of my friend Daisy who was arm in arm with her husband Archer.

"Hi Daisy!" I replied suddenly tugging her into the trio hug, "It's good to see you again, it's been a while."

"Yes it has." Daisy chuckled.

"Good to see you again Lucy." Archer said giving a rather gentlemanly bow.

I put Natalie and Garren back down on their feet and gave Archer a little curtsy with my tight dress. I stumbled trying my best to still stand on my sore feet. They had hurt ever since I put them on back home.

"Whoops, sorry! This outfit is so hard to walk in, especially these heels." I pointed to my heeled shoes.

"Then why don't you just take them off?" Natalie asked.

"Shane wants me to look _'proper' _when showing off my beauty." I replied emphasizing _proper _by posing as the pretty girls do. We all laughed loudly making sure we were out of earshot of Shane.

"Well, Shane wants you to come back inside. It's time for the toast." Garren said.

"Is it that time already?" I asked myself.

Quickly I strode inside, trying to look proper according to what Shane had wanted me to do (as much as I hated it). As we made the toast to our bonding marriage, I couldn't help but notice that all of the guests seemed to be only adoring me for being a beautiful bride; and not just a girl and a boy just falling in love. _Do they know nothing about true love? Am I so strayed from the path that I cannot see what they see?_

After the toast I was free to roam around outside the apartment building. Secretly, I took the hideous dress and heeled shoes off, and replaced them with my summer dress and flats.

"Much better." I muttered, skipping happily across the clearing knowing that my feet were free from those horrid heels. Settling down on some comfortable grass, I pulled out a sketchbook from my bag and started to draw the scenery before me. When I finished most of the landscape of the forest I looked it over to see if it was right. That was when I noticed that again I had drawn the figure.

This time it was different. The figure wasn't blurrier but a bit more clearer. I gasped loudly, covering my gaping mouth with my hand. Slowly I looked up to the top of the trees.

And there it was, standing in the shadows closer than I've ever seen it before.

At first I didn't know what to do. The thought of finally seeing the figure a little closer than before was breathtaking indeed, but at the same time I stared up at it in horror, as if it was hunting me as a prey.

"RAWR!"

I jumped as Natalie tackled me from behind and made me fall flat on my face. I laughed very hard for being surprised like that, and she did the same.

"All right you got me!" I exclaimed laughing.

When I had gotten to my feet I looked at the same place I saw the mysterious figure. To my surprise it was not there anymore.

"What's the matter Lucy?" Natalie asked interrupting my train of thought.

I quickly picked her clean off the ground and lifted her up in the air.

"Nothing except the fact that you surprised me." I said playfully.

"EEEE!" she squeaked happily.

I spun her around in the air until I let her fall into my arms in a warm hug. We stayed that way for a while, holding each other as if we were the closest siblings.

"So...what are you doing out here anyways?" Natalie asked.

"I...just want to get away from the party that's all." I responded.

"But why?"

I looked into Natalie's big blue eyes, and she stared back into my golden eyes.

"Don't...tell anyone about this okay?"

She nodded silently.

"Well...I feel as though that...I don't belong here."

Natalie gave me a questioned look.

"It's...well, because of the way Shane treats me. It's as if when in public he sees me as a woman to cherish but...then when no one else is around...I feel like a fool around him. He keeps me locked in his sights everywhere I go, making me wear something he likes, or do something he likes. Everything is all about _him_!"

I couldn't help but yell at the last one, a pain coursing through my heart. I looked at Natalie to see that she was very concerned, noticing that I felt a much deeper pain than she would have known. She softly put her little hand onto my cheek.

"Lucy, you've taught me so much, and I know you are stronger than he is."

I was surprised to hear her say that. _She's never been this serious to me before. _

"And...I know that you taught me to always listen to your own heart when you don't know where else to go. So please Lucy, listen to what's inside you and I think you'll find where you belong."

Her words echoed in my mind, carrying through to my saddened, painful heart.

"I-I don't know how." I whispered sadly.

"Sure you do." she replied, "You just gotta have a little hope."

"Hope?"

Just as the words slipped out, I heard a big rustling behind me. It was coming from the forest. I quickly turned expecting some creature to pop out. But nothing did, and instead there was an ominous silence. The crickets had stopped chirping, and the animals were nowhere to be seen.

"Natalie...go back to your mom." I told her.

"But-"

Natalie did not finish her sentence when she looked at my face. She saw that I was serious and not joking around. She nodded in understanding and slowly backed up a few paces, then quickly turned to run back to the apartment in the distance.

The silence must have lasted a few minutes, but to me it felt like hours. The suspense was killing me. Finally I managed to pluck up my courage and stepped one foot forward.

"Who's there?!" I shouted as loud as I could.

There was another rustle, this time it was closer to me.

"I know you're out there!" I shouted again, "Where are you hiding?!"

It was then that I heard a deep growl coming from the forest in front of me. And there in the shadows stood the figure of a creature. At least, I thought it was a creature. I still could not see what it was that lay in the shadows.

I felt myself quivering from the fear that was starting to well up inside. "What do you want?" I shouted shakily to the creature.

It did not say a word. _Maybe it could not speak?_ Then I saw the creature take a few steps towards me.

"Keep away! Don't come any closer!" I shouted backing away. My shaking started to violently increase as it came toward me.

Then it suddenly stopped at the edge of the clearing, taking care not to step into the moonlight. I noticed this and wondered if the creature was afraid of light. Intrigued I stopped moving away now that it was not following me. I was shaking very hard now, scared for my life. I felt in my heart a gnawing fear that would not go as I stared at it.

_"Stay calm. Control yourself." _I told myself. Breathing slowly I was able to calm myself before the creature noticed my overcoming fear. The courage came back as I stared across the clearing to the creature.

"Why are you here?" I sternly asked.

What it said next made my heart stop.

"Who are you?"

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**A/N**: So I leave you with a cliffhanger. Who is this mysterious creature? That I will answer in the next chapter. I would love to hear feedback about how I did, so leave reviews. They will graciously be accepted. See you next chapter!


	3. A Dangerous Path

**A/N**: Get ready guys! This is going to be an intense chapter! Very intense indeed! I hope you enjoy this one.

I own the rights to my ocs, Wreck-It Ralph characters belong to Disney.

Beyond The Page

Chapter 3: A Dangerous Path

I don't know how fast I was running, but before I knew it I had reached the apartment building out of breath. The voice was still echoing in my head, the voice of the strange figure that appeared to me in the forest.

"Lucy, there you are! Where have you been?!" boomed the loud voice of Shane. He was coming at me as fast as I was when I was running back to the party.

I was still catching my breath when Shane finally got to me. He grabbed my wrist tightly, I tried to let go but he was very strong and kept a firm grip.

"Damn it Lucy! I thought I told you never to wander off! It's dangerous out there!" he yelled at me. Struggling I tried to break free, but the more I struggled the more tighter he held me.

"Don't ever try to wander off again understand?" he said loudly.

I did not respond, for I knew he was going to control me even now.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" he shouted, this time right in my ear. The pain in my wrist and my ears was more than I could bear.

Almost tear-stricken, I nodded my head twice.

"Good." he let go of my wrist. I rubbed my wrist with my hand not looking up.

"And change back into your dress, I don't want anyone to see that you dress as if you are _lower_ than everyone."

"But I like this dress." I whispered. Shane snapped his head back at me and gave me an angered glare.

"Actually Shane, I'm pretty tired. Being at the party sure was fun tonight, I should get home to my mom and see if she's okay."

As I said this Shane's glare turned into a softened smile. He sighed, "All right, go home. I know you care about your mother so. Sophie is indeed special to you huh?"

"Yes. She is my mother." I spoke louder, "And it is my responsibility from the bottom of my heart to make sure that my mom is well and okay."

Shane nodded and told me he would take care of the guests expecting me. I thanked him and slowly made my way onto the pathway that lead home. Before I made it out into the woods I thought I heard Shane say something behind my back. Shrugging it off I kept going on the pathway into the dark forest ahead.

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Landing softly on the edge of the forest, I stood and looked at the human town from above thinking about what had happened. Just moments ago I watched after the human girl I wanted to meet as she ran as fast as she could back to the human world. My outburst of what I was eventually going to do to man shocked her, and I scared her off. _"What a complete idiot I was!" _I scowled at myself, _"I did not even say what I wanted to know!" _

The only thing I wanted to talk to the girl about was to ask her who she was. And there I was about to confront her, when my fear of being seen took me over and kept me in the darkness. The dark shadows I casted must have scared her stiff, for she was shaking in fear.

I did not want her to be afraid of me. I only wanted to know her name.

Yet my plan to ruin this human party of theirs got the best of me and scared her away. Shaking off the events that occurred earlier, I now focused on the task at hand. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike from the shadows.

That was when I saw the same girl leaving.

She seemed pretty upset as human emotions can be. Yet the sadness I sensed in her was that of sadness and longing, not anger. My thoughts were disturbed when I heard a few human voices in the distance. Quietly I sneaked underfoot over to the voices, being careful not to be seen.

"Now listen to me very carefully. This task requires a great deal of careful precision." a scruffy man's voice whispered.

"We are listening, what would you have us do?" asked a snake-like voice of another man.

I finally reached a closed off clearing, seeing that there were four men there. When I got a better view of the men, the man with the snake-like voice did indeed look to be a snake. Many of the humans I would see looked somewhat like him, so his kind was not a surprised to me. The two men that stood at the side of the snake-like men where taller and seemed to be stronger than him, though if it was me I would take them down in a heartbeat. Yet when I laid eyes on the scruffy voiced man, he wasn't as intimidating as the others were. It was a man who presented himself as a figure that everyone respected and called one of the greats.

But I knew otherwise. This man was twisted indeed.

"My evening at the engagement party was rather..._unexpectedly surprising_." the scruffy man replied to the snake-like one, "I say this because the girl that I am to marry seems to be...how should I say this..._doubtful_ about this union."

"What is it that you want us to do?" the snake-like man asked, a thin smile spreading across his pale face.

I did not need to hear anymore. I knew what these men were up to. Forgetting about the attack, my only thought was to take the route into the forest, following the pathway leading to and from the human town.

I needed to find the girl.

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It was very dark as I trekked across the beaten path home. Tears were stinging my eyes as I cried quietly where no one could hear.

"Stupid Shane! STUPID, STUPID, **STUPID**!" I screamed into the darkness above. There were no stars that shone through the trees tonight, even though the skies were clear with many stars and a full moon. I took off the seashell hair clip that was still worn on my head, making the hair that was pulled back fall onto my face. I turned and threw it into the dark trees and out of sight.

"I'm never going to marry you." I whispered.

A sudden moment ahead stopped me. Standing in the way of the end of the path was a thin pale man. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember.

"Good evening." I called out to the man.

He nodded not moving.

I kept walking towards the end of the path. However when I was about to cross out of the forest, the man blocked my path. I tried to get around him, but he would not let me pass.

"Excuse me, but I need to get home."

"You're not going anywhere." the man said in a snake-like voice.

I recognized the voice. He wasn't just an ordinary guy, he was a man that does dirty tasks for Shane. I knew then I was in trouble. I turned around to make a run for it, but the path was blocked by two bigger men, who stood side by side.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the pale man called, "You wouldn't want my men to be angered would you?"

"I...supposed not." I turned to face the pale man, "What do you want? Did Shane send you to fetch me back to the party? Well I'm not going back, I'm going home."

"I'm afraid you can't Miss Lucy." the man replied.

"How did-"

A sudden pain went through my side, causing me to yelp softly. One of the taller men had thrown a fist into my side. I fell with a thud onto the path, clutching myself from the pain coursing through my side.

"Get her on her feet."

The other man pulled on my hair to get me up. I screamed a little louder as I was forced onto my feet. The pale man gave me a sly smile. I felt pain go everywhere through my body, and my heart was beating so hard it made me feel increasingly dizzy. I struggled to break free but the man who had my hair in his hand did not let go, and the more I struggled the more the pain increased.

_Am I...not going to make it home? Is this..._

A violent shudder went through my whole body as a watched the man pull out something small in his hand. It was about as big as a paintbrush, with one end of it being big and made of wood while the other side was gleaming silver with the end being pointed. I gasped and stopped struggling when I realized that in his hand he had a sharp knife.

Then something unexpected happened.

The forest was always full of sounds at night. But for some reason there was dead silence. There was no sound.

"We're not alone." said the voice of the first taller man.

I was silent, trying to listen. _This has happened before, which means..._

"Show yourself!" shouted the second tall man who held me by my hair.

Again there was no sound. Now I was worried not about the men that were here, I was worried about the danger that was coming to us.

The first tall man slowly walked back along the path looking left and right into the trees. Suddenly he turned and ran into the trees on the left. For a moment there was only the sound of the first man's feet rustling the leaves. After a minute had gone by the noise had stopped, and there was dead silence once more.

The other man holding my hair had let go and pushed me down on the ground again.

"Something's out there." the second man said, "I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find it!"

I lay there still, not daring to run or the men would catch me and try to hurt me again. Instead I slowly sat up, not daring to stand, and looked into the trees where the first man had gone into.

Suddenly there was a low growl coming from the trees.

The second man and the pale snake-like man were taken aback by the sudden noise. The pale man held his knife tighter in his fist, while the second man took out a sharp blade from out of nowhere. I stayed sitting there, shocked and terrified, not moving.

Then there came the loud sounds.

_**SLAM!**_ _**THUD!**_

The two men gasped in horror as I realized that the first tall man was attacked by something. _Something big._

"Alright you coward! COME OUT!" the second man charged into the trees after the loud sounds.

I was so terrified with fear that I couldn't move my legs. The pale man was still shocked and stricken with fear. _This is your chance Lucy. RUN!_

With that thought I made a break for it. Unfortunately the pale man had recovered just enough to catch me by the neck.

"NOT SO FAST!" he slyly spoke, holding me tight in his arm. He put the knife up to me, making me stop struggling. I close my eyes knowing that I was done for.

Then the growl from before came again. It was louder this time and very close. I opened my eyes to see the biggest figure I've ever seen standing in the darkness. It slowly walked over towards us.

"Don't come any closer!" yelled the pale man, tightening my grip on me.

The figure stopped for a moment, but then it's growl intensified as it continued towards us.

I was torn between struggling to break free or to watch in horror as the figure came closer. Then I heard a familiar voice.

"Let the girl go."

It was the voice of the figure who spoke. I realized then it was the same creature that I encountered earlier in the clearing. I was scared more than ever, my heart was pounding like crazy.

"You come any closer and this girl will get it!" shouted the pale man. I could tell there was desperation in his voice when he pressed the knife against me.

The creature stopped, it's growl ceasing. The man smiled as he stood his ground with me trapped in his grip.

Is the creature trying to help me? Or does it just want me for itself?

Whatever the reason I knew that I had to get out of the man's grip, because he was sure to do me in if I didn't. I thought quickly of what to do, and with one motion, I bit down as hard as I could on the man's fingers that were holding me.

Shocked with pain the man screamed and hit me right in the face, knocking me back down onto the ground again. My vision was going black from landing so hard on my head, but I still could make out the sounds. I heard the man still screaming from the shock, and the next thing I knew the man's scream abruptly stopped when I heard a loud thud close to me.

I was fading into unconsciousness and could not move. Terrified I tried to push myself back on my feet, only to fall down flat again.

The only thing that I saw before fading into darkness was a pair of flat, human-like feet.

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**A/N**: Hm...what will happen to Lucy? Tune in next chapter to find out! Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated and will graciously be accepted. Until then, see you next chapter!


	4. The Guardian of the Forest

**A/N**: And here is the next chapter. I'm uploading these chapters faster than I thought, my goodness! I hope you enjoy this one (Note: There is a few different italics, the first few is how the fairies talk, the second set is a dream/flashback. Just to clear up any confusion).

Beyond The Page

Chapter 4: The Guardian of the Forest

In the dead silence I stood there looking down at the unconscious girl that lay there. The girl was wounded badly, I feared that she would not make it. It was too far to carry her home, and too risky. The only option I had was to carry her deeper into the forest. Carefully I picked the girl up into my arms and made my way through the trees as fast as I could. The girl was hot to the touch and shivering though it was a warm summer night. She was growing sicker.

I never go to the fairies for anything, even if I was wounded badly. They tended to their world as I did to mine. But now that the fairies were the only choice in saving the girl, I had no choice but to go to them.

_It was too soon for the girl to go. _

As I reached the ancient trees leading to the dwellings of the fairies, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of this human girl.

_"A stranger approaches us."_

_"It is the Guardian of the Forest."_

_"What does the Guardian want with fairies I wonder?"_

_"Never does the Guardian come to us. Why do you come here?"_

I could hear the fairies talking about me. God, did I hate them for sticking their noses in other's business. I reached a small clearing where there most sacred ground was. This was the place where they had performed miracles long ago before me. In the middle was the eldest tree of their fairy world, older than perhaps the whole forest itself.

"I would not come to you if it wasn't important!" I shouted into the trees. I knew the fairies were watching my every move. "This human is sick, and I cannot do anything about it. Please help this girl."

_"A human girl you say?"_

_"We've never seen you care about humans."_

_"You always hated them, why help this one?"_

"I don't have to tell you why!" I growled.

The fairies were silent, but still did not come out. Then one of the fairies, a young female fairy, floated down from the very old tree in the clearing. She observed the human in my arms who was still trembling.

_"This girl is special." _she spoke softly.

"What do you mean special?" I asked confused.

The fairy floated up to me, _"She is the girl who will change the human world as we speak. Not now, not tomorrow, but sometime soon."_

"If she is to change the human world, why does it concern us to save her?"

_"If the girl is not saved, then a great catastrophe will occur, affecting the forest around us as well as the sea beyond it."_

"But can you save her?!" I asked impatiently.

The girl was now trembling much more violently than before. The fairy once more looked down at the human, then she looked back at me again.

_"Yes I can. But there is something you must do in return."_

"What is that?" I asked nervously.

_"You must promise to protect her from any harm."_

I was taken aback by this, and it made me easily lose my temper.

"Protect a human? I loathe all human scum! I would never protect any human for as long as I lived!"

_"Then why do you want to save this human?"_

I was taken aback once more. _Why did I want to save her? What could possibly be in this human girl that makes her so different?_

I looked up to the young fairy, giving her an answer that made all the questions in my mind go away.

"Because she's..._special_."

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Feverish nightmares haunted me as I slept. Every time I wanted to wake up, the nightmares would take me back into slumber. My vision still did not come back and I developed a chill I could not shake off. _"What if I didn't see my mother again? What if I do not recover?"_

_What if..._

Then suddenly, as fast as the nightmares came, they faded away. A better dream came to me that took away the chill and the fevered feeling. It was a memory I had a long time ago, when I was a little girl.

_I was by the sea, not far from the summer home. It was a clear summer evening, the sun setting in the sea. I was happily playing in the sand and slowly making my way playfully towards the sea. _

_"Lucy! Come here child!" my father's voice called. _

_I laughed as my feet felt the cold seawater wash on me. I ran as fast as I could to where my mother and father were watching from afar. _

_"My little Lily." my mother said to me enveloping me in a warm hug. _

_"Mother? Can you tell me a story?" I asked her. _

_"Alright then. How about... the story of the Guardian of the Forest?" she replied._

_"Oh yes! I love that story!" I exclaimed. _

_My father laughed heartily and patted my head. My mother sat down in the sand and gently put me on her lap, while my father sat next to her. She then cleared her throat and started telling the story:_

_'Once there was a boy that was born with a gift. He was much taller than any of the other boys, and had much bigger hands and feet than anyone had ever seen. He was an orphan who had no parents, but he was okay with it. As a boy all the other children mocked him and teased him for being so different. So one day he ran away into the ancient forest. He kept running until he reached the deepest part of the forest. There he met the mysterious fairies that dwelled there. They taught him that the forest is of importance to the balance of life. That the trees man cuts down is bad for the world, and man's expansion of the world will surely destroy us. So the boy stayed in the forest, and to this day, guards it from any man or creature that seeks to destroy the forest.' _

_"Is...he still there, in the forest?" I asked her afterward. _

_"Yes dear, he is still there. Watching and protecting the land that we are on now."_

_I sat there in thought, thinking about where the Guardian might be. _

_"Mom...will I ever see the Guardian?"_

_My mother smiled at me with a gentle smile. _

_"Only if you believe in him."_

That was the last thing I heard before slowly waking into consciousness. I had opened my eyes, but all I could still see was darkness. For a moment I thought that somehow I didn't make it. As I opened my eyes wider however I felt a dull pain coursing throughout me. It wasn't very painful but it still did hurt. Cautiously I tried to sit up, taking it slowly.

"Don't move about too much. You might injure yourself again." a voice said in the darkness.

I recognized the voice, but the darkness made me forget who it belonged to.

"Where am I?" I hoarsely whispered.

"Safe." replied the voice.

I breathed in trying to calm myself. I slowly laid back down onto the ground, closing my eyes to more darkness. I had so many questions that were running through my mind.

"What happened to me?" I whispered.

"You were attacked by three humans." the voice responded, "I was able to find you and take you away from them."

Then I realized that I remembered. Last night three men, a pale one and two tall men, attacked me on the road. Then I remembered the creature that had attacked them.

"You were the creature that saved me?"

There was silence in the dark. Then I heard the shuffling of the thing that was there.

"I am."

My head was fuzzy and so confused, I didn't know what to say.

"May I ask you your name? Do you have one?" I softly asked.

There was no response from the creature I could not see.

"You must have a name." I said a little louder, my voice almost lost.

My ears heard the echo of my voice. I read that echoes occur in a big place, most likely a cave. _Am I in a cavern? _

"I have a name." the creature spoke, "It is the title I carry. I am called The Guardian."

I opened my eyes again in shock. It was then that I could see where I was.

The place was damp and darkened, but in the distance I could make out a little light coming from one end. I figured that I was near the outside, but I still could not make out where the voice was coming from.

"Where are you? I cannot see you."

"You must rest. You will need your strength." the Guardian said softly.

From there I determined the voice was coming from inside the cavern. I tried squinting my eyes to see if I could see it, but it was too dark inside.

"Why don't you come out?" I called out softly.

"For fear that you would be terrified of me."

"Terrified? I don't understand." My mind was getting fuzzier making it hard for me to think. My eyes were about to close again, being so tired.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked sleepily.

"It does not matter now." the Guardian replied, "You must rest now."

As I slipped into slumber, I asked the Guardian one more question that sort of slipped out on its own.

"Why...did you save me?" I sleepily whispered.

There was no answer, for I did not hear one as I fell asleep once more.

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When I woke up again, I found myself feeling much better than I was before. Trying again with precaution, I slowly sat up. To my surprise the pain in my side was gone, as well as the pain that went through my heart as well. I felt better than I had before.

For the first time I was able to see where I was. It was indeed a cavern like I thought it was. Inside it felt cool and damp, but I could feel a slight warmth from the outside of the cave. Around me the walls were wet and clammy, but for some reason the ground I sat on was dry. And that when I looked down on the ground I saw something that lay next to me. It was a rounded object wrapped up in a piece of cloth and tied at the top. I picked up the round object, and slowly untied the cloth around it. When I took the cloth off, there lay a perfectly sized peach inside. I always loved peaches and would go into the forest sometimes to pick some, but there weren't that many peaches near my home.

This peach however was a perfectly sized one, enough to have an even combination of juiciness and sweetness. Realizing that thinking of peaches made me hungry, I took a bite out of the peach. It was indeed delicious like I thought, and so much more.

"Mm..." I took another bite of the peach, chewing slowly on the sweet fruit.

Suddenly there was a noise that came from outside of the cave. Intrigued, I let my curious nature take me over as I stood up slowly onto my feet. At first they were weakly shaking as I tried to walk. After I had taken a few steps, I was able to gain some balance and made my way to the end of the cavern.

It was faint but I heard the sound of roaring water coming from the outside. It got louder as I got closer to the exit. Stepping outside I had to shield my eyes to the sudden light that came.

What I saw was the most beautiful scene I have ever laid eyes on.

The cavern I was in led out to a waterfall that hid the cavern, but as I looked closer through the waterfall, I saw a beautiful lake shimmering with the light from the sun. It was breathtaking as I walked slowly down to the waterfall, parting the water so I could get through. The water felt refreshingly cool on my skin. I walked through the water though I wasn't able to keep dry, for it soaked me down through my clothes.

Giving off a slight giggle I splashed my way through the shallow water in the lake to the shore, giggling as the water tickled my feet. When I made it to the shore, I turned around to formally look at the whole scenery. The waterfall was breathtaking as the roaring waters from above came splashing down to the lake below.

I took another bite of my peach, which was now a little wet from the water I trekked through. It still tasted pretty sweet though.

From behind me I heard a peculiar noise. Turning quickly I gasped when I saw movement come from the brush.

"Who's there?" I squeaked.

A rustle came from the nearest brush. I backed away a few steps afraid of what was there. As I stepped back I knocked on something with the back of my foot. I gasped and closed my eyes as I lost my footing about to splash into the lake.

But I never did, because something grabbed my hand before I fell in. When I opened my eyes I did not expect to see what I saw.

Holding onto my hand was a very large human hand.

It was bigger than any hand that I've seen before. I stared at it forgetting that I was hanging over the shallow water of the lake. With my other free hand I grabbed onto the big hand that had caught me. Suddenly I was pulled up onto my feet again, but I feel to my knees. My heart was pounding so much that I had to sit down.

When I did though I noticed in front of me there was a pair of human-like flat feet.

_"Those feet...they look so familiar."_

"You need to be more careful human."

I recognized that voice. It was the Guardian's voice that had spoken to me before when I was in the cave. Slowly I looked upward from the big flat feet, all the way up to the creature that stood before me. Only it didn't look like a creature at all.

It looked just like a human.

In fact it looked to be like a man, but his figure was different than any man. He was taller than any man I've seen. He wore maroon colored overalls, with one strap being broken. Under it he wore a plaid shirt with a greenish shirt underneath. His apparel was rugged and torn in some places, and he gave off a pleasant earth-like smell.

I was still, not knowing what to do as I stared up at the man. Finally I decided to cautiously get on my feet. I was able to look more clearly at his face as I stood before him. He had light brown-like hair that swayed in the breeze, covering much of his face. He looked to be very strong standing there with a tall-like posture.

"You're not going to hurt me are you?" I felt myself start to shake.

"No. I will not harm you."

He suddenly turned to leave.

"Wait, don't go!" I called.

He turned to face me, and for the first time I could see his face. His eyes were of a golden-brown color, and he had a softened expression on his face as he stopped to listen.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"I have told you already." he replied his expression hardening a little.

"Well...I don't want to call you 'Guardian' all the time. It's more of a title than a name." I laughed softly, "Do you even have a name?"

"The Guardian is all I need to know I am." he answered, his voice not wavering.

"Can I give you a name then?"

I saw for a moment that his expression changed and was taken aback by what I said, but then he returned to his stern expression. He gave a small nod.

"Okay..." I said thinking of a name. I went through all the names in my head that I heard from stories. But then I remembered the Guardian story my mom told me.

"How about...Ralph?" I responded, "I heard it from a story. And I think...that name suits you."

I excitedly waited for his answer. He stood there looking at me for the longest time.

"So be it then. My name will be Ralph."

My smile grew wider, happy that he had accepted that name so openly.

Ralph walked back over to me and picked up the peach that I had dropped while I had lost my balance. He offered it to me, the fruit lying in the palm of his big hand. I hesitated for a moment, then I gingerly took the peach from his outstretched hand. I smiled up at him as I took another bite of the sweet fruit. Afterwards Ralph left me on the shore of the lake, telling me that he was going to look for more food.

As I watched him leave, I felt happy to finally know who the figure was that was watching over me for the longest time. I sat down, finishing the sweet peach, waiting for Ralph to come back. I had found a pit inside the peach as I was finishing the last few morsels. Smiling at the seed, I dug a little hole in the dirt and planted the seed inside. Covering up the peach seed, I took a little handful of water from the lake and watered the dirt mound.

And I realized that for the first time in a long time, I wasn't sad or lonely: I was very happy.

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**A/N**: And so we meet the Guardian-err I mean Ralph! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback on this and previous chapters are graciously accepted. See you guys next chapter!


	5. The Baby Cybug

**A/N: **Here we go! It's Chapter 5! While writing this I was thinking about how in Wreck-It Ralph there was a cute baby cybug that Ralph encounters in Hero's Duty. And I thought to myself: Hey! Why not have it as a companion to Lucy! So this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Ralph and the Cybugs belong to Wreck-It Ralph and Disney, my ocs Lucy and Evelyn belong to me.

Beyond The Page

Chapter 5: The Baby Cybug

"Ralph...what an odd name." I muttered as I went through the trees looking for more food. _Why is this girl not afraid of me? Is it because she knows I was the one that saved her? Or is it..._

I found a few berries within some brushes as well as nuts that had fell from some oak trees nearby. Picking a big handful of them with the big hand of mine, I made my way back.

_"There's so much of this girl that I don't know about, it sickens me!" _I shuddered. I could usually read any human, but this girl was unreadable even though she had the emotions and feelings of a human. But it was something else that made me shudder then. It was something that the young fairy had said before.

_"She is special you say?" she asked me. _

_I nodded silently looking down at the girl in my arms. _

_"Then I will save her." she answered. _

_I breathed a sigh of relief. _

_"But saving her will only take away the fever and chills she has."_

_"What do you mean?" I asked the fairy. _

_"There is a sickness in her heart that cannot be healed by fairy magic. It's a sickness of the heart that stays when you lose someone that you love dear. And it can never be replaced."_

_"Then...will she be...?"_

_"No she will not die." the fairy assured me, "If you promise to protect her, you must look after her as well until she finds her path. Only then will the sickness in her heart go away."_

It was then that I had promised her that I would watch over the girl very closely. After the human girl was healed I took her to my secret place deep inside the forest, where I watched over her as she slept quietly.

I suddenly lost my train of thought when I saw something lay on the ground. I looked closer and saw it was a peculiar object I have never seen before. _A human object no doubt. _

It had a long leather strap, and at the bottom was an attached rectangle-like box that hung from the strap. Intrigued, I picked the object up. Then I remembered something: the girl had on something like this object when I found her.

"She must have dropped it." I muttered.

Holding onto the object, I made my way back to where I left her.

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I looked everywhere for my bag, but I could not find it. I felt driven to tears, because my bag had all of the important artist sketchbooks that were precious to me.

"How am I going to sketch my favorite things now?" I cried softly.

Just as I said this, I heard a loud thump come from behind me. It was only Ralph that had returned from the forest. In his hands it looked like he was carrying something. At first I thought it was the food that he found. I was right there, but he took something else out first and offered it to me. I gasped because what he held in his hand was the bag I lost.

"You dropped this." he said outstretching the bag to me.

"You found my bag!" I found myself exclaiming. I almost immediately took it from his hands, but I hesitated because I didn't want to rude or anything. I carefully took the bag from his outstretched hand, hugging it tight against me. I smiled up at him then turned to open the bag.

"I...didn't get your name human."

I turned back to him remembering that I forgot to mention my name. _"Oh I forgot to tell him my name!"_

"Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude of me to forget." I answered feeling my cheeks turning pink, "My name is Lucille Lily Tate." I gave him a little curtsy, "But...everyone calls me Lucy for short."

"Lucy." Ralph repeated softly.

"Um...yeah, that's what my name is." I felt myself blushing red.

We stood there staring at each other awkwardly. A while later I managed to give him a little smile, then turned away and sat down to look into my bag.

_"Oh good, my sketchbooks are still here." _I sighed in relief as I pulled out a tiny little booklet I used for small sketches. I turned back to see what Ralph was doing. Instead I looked down at yet another bundle wrapped in a cloth. I opened it to see that there was an assortment of wild berries and nuts. I smiled gleefully at the sight of them. I popped a berry into my mouth, the sweetness like the peach tasting just right. I looked around to see if I could spot Ralph. I finally found him across the clearing, munching on a few nuts he had on his own bundle.

While eating the berries and nuts I decided to sketch out the beautiful waterfall in front of me. _"Maybe I could use it in one of my paintings when I get back."_

I stopped mid-sketch, thinking about how my mom must be worried about me not coming home. I sighed sadly and continued to sketch the scene. When I was finished, I looked it over. Then I noticed two things odd about the sketch. The first thing I saw was a small looking person up in the grass, and right next to it was an insect that was a little larger than any normal one. I looked up to see that I wasn't imagining it.

They were right there.

I stared at them, perplexed by the two out of the ordinary figures. I blinked my eyes a few times to see if I was seeing things right, but there they still stood.

Ralph must have noticed them too, because he had stood up from where he was munching on his own assortment of nuts and was facing the pair. Suddenly the little person zipped right through the grass right up to me, quickly hiding behind me. I gasped taken aback by the speed of the little person. It was then the big insect made its way towards me as well.

**_SLAM!_**

Ralph's fist came down in the pathway of the bug, making it turn in a different direction. Again Ralph made another punch down in the little bug's way. **_SLAM! _**

"Ralph! What are you doing? Don't hurt it!" I shouted after him.

"It's a Cybug. They are very dangerous!" Ralph answered chasing after the little cybug that was now scrambling to get away.

"But it's only a baby insect." I replied.

"They can grow up to be dangerous predators." Ralph said. He had finally caught up to the baby cybug and was about to crush it.

"RALPH STOP!" I screamed.

His fists paused just at the cybug, turning to face me with a confused but angered look.

The baby cybug then raced towards me again, going past Ralph with haste. When it reached me, it stared at me with green bug-like eyes. My golden eyes stared back at the cybug. I slowly reached out for the little bug. It suddenly hissed at me then with its little pincers bit one of my fingers. I winced at the pain, but then I kept staring at the baby cybug. Surprisingly I was determined to let no harm come to it.

"It's okay. There's nothing to fear, right?" I said calmly to the cybug.

It hissed at me more, biting down more on my finger. It was painful, but I still kept calm being careful not to get too excited. I looked to see Ralph was about ready to pounce on the little cybug. Then quite suddenly the hissing stopped. I turned to look at it and saw that it was not biting my finger anymore, but rather trying to suck the blood from the bite. I smiled at it.

"You were just scared huh?"

It stared back up at me again, this time with a look of guilt rather than fear. I smiled at it as the cybug then let me touch it.

"How did you do that?" I heard Ralph ask surprised.

"I don't know." I muttered petting the baby cybug slowly. It curled up by my side and was staring up at me still.

_"It was like magic."_

Surprised I looked around to see who had said that. That was when I saw the little person come out from hiding. In fact the little person I saw was a girl. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I looked at her with curiosity now taking over my whole being.

"Who are you?" I curiously asked the little girl.

_"My name's Evelyn. But you may call me Eve." _she responded in a tiny voice. It was adorable just to hear it.

"And she's a fairy."

I looked up at Ralph. I could hear he was still angry in his voice, but his expression was softened.

"A fairy." I gleefully stated looking back at Eve.

I stretched out my other hand to her and offered her to take it. With little trembling fingers she took my hand (rather my finger), and climbed onto the palm of my hand.

"It is nice to meet you Eve. My name's Lucy." I addressed her, giving her a warm smile.

She smiled back at me, _"It's very nice to meet you too."_

That was when I noticed that she did not have wings. I knew fairies did have wings, but she did not have them.

"Where are your wings? Have they been lost?"

_"No. I haven't grown in my wings yet. The others say that I will have wings when the time is right."_

"What are you doing here, if I may ask?" Ralph asked intensely.

_"They sent me to watch over you two." _Eve replied, _"Besides, I've never really been outside of my home before, it's exciting!"_

She jumped once on my hand excitingly. I gave a slight giggle amused by her excitement.

"Look, I appreciate you coming like this. But we don't need watching over." Ralph replied angrily.

Eve looked up at him, her face furrowing into a frown.

_"I really didn't have a choice!"_ she retorted, _"They said that I cannot come back until I know that you two are alright."_

"And we are!" Ralph shouted.

I had gotten confused, not knowing what to say. The baby cybug looked up at me, the fear coming back in its eyes. Then an idea came into my mind as I looked at the scared cybug.

"You know...I think I might name you...Tobi. From a story my mom told me about a warrior who had a bug sidekick by his side. What do you think?"

The cybug gave a small screech and curled up to me more. I laughed pulling the little bug closer to me. I looked up to see that Ralph and Eve had stopped arguing and were staring at me dumbfounded.

"What?" I asked not knowing why they were looking at me.

Eve smiled up at me, _"You are one strange girl."_

"She's not strange!" Ralph responded angrily.

_"Then what is she then?"_ she asked him jumping off of my palm.

I looked up at Ralph who was staring dumbly back at Eve. I couldn't help but smile at the expression he gave. I suddenly felt tired wanting to rest after the events that had happened. The sun had fallen behind the trees and the sky was about to turn black. Too tired to get up I fell asleep where I sat, feeling Tobi curl up beside me as I went into a deep slumber.

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"She's a human girl." I snapped back.

_"A special human girl you mean."_

The fairy Eve was about as annoying as the rest of the fairies. _Why couldn't they leave us alone?_

"Yes that's what I meant! And by the way, it's not very nice to be rude to someone you've just met, calling her strange!" I was so angry at the fairy that I almost wanted to go on a rampage. What stopped me was the fact that when I looked towards Lucy, she was fast asleep, curled up beside the baby cybug.

_"I wasn't trying to be rude!"_ Eve shouted.

"Shh! Lucy's asleep." I whispered pointing to the human.

Eve looked in her direction, then turned back towards me still frowning.

_"I wasn't being rude to her!"_ she whispered intensely, _"I was taken aback at how powerful she has become!"_

"How do you mean?" I asked.

_"Remember that my mother, the young fairy you talked to, told you she was going to someday change the world as we know it?"_

"Yes I do. Don't think that I've forgotten about that." I said. I was taken aback a little when she said the young fairy I spoke to was her mother.

_"Well, you did see how she tamed a baby cybug, when their race is not tamable at all right?"_

I nodded slowly.

_"I think that she could not have done this without her special powers. She doesn't realize that she has them, but it is already unlocked just like yours is."_

"Only she can't see it?"

_"Exactly."_

I contemplated over the information Eve had just gave me. I looked down at the girl Lucy, fast asleep without any troubles or sadness. Looking at her suddenly made me feel something I had never felt before. I felt suddenly warm like there was a growing flame inside of me.

_"Hey, are you okay?"_

"What?" I answered too loudly, covering my mouth when I realized that my answer was too loud. I looked over at the girl, but she was still deeply in slumber.

"It's nothing." I muttered looking down at my feet.

I plopped down on the ground quietly and took a few nuts from my bundle of food. I munched on them as quietly as I could, trying not to wake her.

_"Then I bid you goodnight."_

I heard Eve call as I saw her lay down by Lucy, covering herself up with the human's hand.

I looked upon the three misfits that lay there sleeping. A baby cybug, a fairy, and a human girl named Lucy.

"Goodnight Lucy." I muttered quietly.

I slowly laid down on my back looking up at the stars. There were always millions of stars that glowed every night in the forest. Yet tonight as I looked up at the same stars I couldn't help but feel guilty. Guilty for taking the human away from her world and her family.

_She belonged in the human world, not in mine._

In the distance, I picked up a rather odd noise. Being as I had good ears I sat up and looked towards where the sound came from. The sound I heard was loud screeching and the tumbling of the trees that fell to the forest floor.

"Cybugs." I clenched my fists ready, knowing that they were coming here for one thing.

_Their baby._

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**A/N**: And here I leave you with another cliffhanger. What will happen? Tune in next chapter to find out. Feedback and reviews are graciously accepted. Until next chapter guys, see you!


	6. The Rainstorm Nightmare

**A/N**: Get ready for intense scenes, a lot of drama, and a little fluff, because this chapter is chocked full of it! Man this took me _forever_ to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter that has got to be the longest one I've ever written!

Wreck-It Ralph characters belongs to Disney, and my ocs Lucy and Eve belong to me.

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Beyond The Page

Chapter 6: The Rainstorm Nightmare

I raced out into the forest leaving the girl and her companions behind, safe in the clearing. I knew that no one could get in except me. I kept going until I heard the screeches get louder.

_"They're close." _I growled. As quiet as possible I swiftly climbed up a pine, not troubled at how difficult it was since I could climb even the tallest trees in the forest.

I surveyed the scene of cybugs, counting how many there were. _"There must be hundreds of them. All for finding one baby cybug?"_ I contemplated why there was so many just to retrieve one.

_"No...there's something wrong. Usually only the mother of the baby would come to get it, not the whole pack."_

Something was indeed up as I watched them scurry in their pack. Then I heard a bloodcurdling screech come somewhere close. It came close to the clearing where I left them. Where I left the human.

_"Oh no...the girl!"_ I almost rushed down the tree, but then I hesitated remembering that the girl I left there was human being.

_"Why should I protect her? She is a human, no different than the rest." _My anger suddenly bubbled up inside me remembering what the humans had done to me long ago. Ridiculing me and treating me like a low-life, I promised that I would not go back to the human world again and punish any that trespass in the forest.

That was when I remembered the first time she had come to this place.

Suddenly my cheeks began to heat up. At first I did not know what this strange feeling was. Then it occurred to me: from what I learned this was what the humans called _blushing_. I had learned this when I once saw two human couples walking through the forest one day. My thoughts returned to when I first saw her. She and another human lived in a little house just by the sea. When I brought her into the forest, an unknown and scary feeling sparked inside me. Whenever she smiled or even slightly touched my hand, I felt my cheeks burning red.

_And there was still more I wanted to know about her._

But I was afraid, and I held back from this human because of the many dangers humans possess; their greedy and selfish nature of getting whatever they wanted in the end.

_And yet_...somehow though there was a goodness hidden inside this one. I did not know how I came to this, but I knew something was indeed different about her.

My thoughts were interrupted suddenly, for the screeching's had gotten louder and stronger, almost as if they were war cries.

Without hesitation I dropped noiselessly to the ground, and then paused with my head low to the ground. I still was not sure what to do, I could not decide...

That was when a loud scream came from out in the dark.

With a low growl I charged back toward the clearing, with only one thing on my mind.

_Lucy_.

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A loud screeching made me suddenly open my eyes. I sleepily sat up rubbing my eyes, wondering what could have made such a noise. I looked down to see Tobi and Eve were still sleeping in the grass, not stirring. Quietly I reached over for my bag laying next to me, being careful not to wake them. I open it to look at the rest of the contents inside. It had my favorite little sketchbook I had taken out earlier, but it also held a few other things precious to me. I took out a photograph of the day my family was at the beach for the first time. In the picture my mother and father were close together, and I was the child that was sandwiched in the middle of them. We were all hugging each other in front of the camera. I smiled as I looked at my father's face remembering when he was alive. A few months after the photo was taken was when my father got hit by a train.

The next item I took out was of a promise ring I received when I was a child. The lining was silver with a dull, blue-green colored stone that was held in the center. I remembered that it was given to me, but for some reason I could not remember who gave it to me. I tried to recollect my memories of my happy childhood, but all that was left was the sad memories of the tragedy of my father.

_I could never return to the happy child I once was. _

The last item I took out was the engagement ring Shane had given me, the diamond glowing in the moonlight. My throat welled up in anger as I looked upon the ring, remembering Shane's abuse of me and my freedom. I hated him so much now, that I wished that I would never return to him again. I closed the ring in my fist, and without another thought, I threw it as far as I could. It went flying up high into the sky, hanging there for a split second before falling back down into the lake.

I sighed heavily. I then heard the loud screeching again. I looked around seeing if the noise was near. Then I thought came into my head: that if I found Ralph I could ask him what was going on.

"Ralph?" I called looking around the clearing. I did not see him anywhere. _"Where could he have gone?" _I muttered. Now I was pretty scared, wishing that he was here with me and my new friends.

Another loud screech turned my attention to the tall dark trees leading into the forest. Curious, I cautiously stood up and walked away from my sleeping companions to the edge of the clearing. I strained my ears to listen closer seeing if I could hear anything. Suddenly within the trees I saw a pair of glowing eyes staring at me. I back away slowly, surprised and terrified by the sudden appearance. My heart started to pound viciously.

_"Stay calm Lucy. Remember to stay calm. Don't get too excited."_

I took a deep breath looking back where the eyes were. But they were gone. I relaxed and sighed in relief thinking that it was just my imagination. That was when I heard another loud screech, but this time it was followed by a low growl. I recognized the growl at once.

_Ralph..._

Without so much as a second thought I raced into the dark forest.

"Ralph!" I called out into the trees. I kept running worrying that he was in trouble, _or worse_.

"Where are you?" I shouted panting.

I could not run any faster and was out of breath. Panting I sat down with my back against a nearby tree branch. My heart was pounding so fast that I had to clasp it. Looking up the tree I was leaning on I saw it was _enormous_. It must have been more than 20 feet tall at least, with leaves as big as my head blowing in the wind. For a moment I stared up at it in awe, forgetting the pain in my heart. I then realized I was still out of breath, and the pain came back. Looking down I closed my eyes trying to calm myself. I stayed like that for what seemed the longest time. Then I heard a rustle come from the brush behind me.

"Ralph?" I turned to my delight thinking it was him.

Instead a much bigger insect stared right back at me.

I gasped as the insect slowly came out of the brush. For some reason it did not attack me. It seemed to have not noticed me from behind the tree branch. I stayed there being as quiet as I could. I was paralyzed with fear and could not move. My mind was racing with so many thoughts that I could not think straight.

When I looked up I saw two insects right in front of me.

This time though the bugs had seen me out in the open. When I looked closer at them, still paralyzed in fear, I noticed that the bugs closely resembled Tobi. I realized then that they were Cybugs. To my horror more of them had gathered when one cybugs gave a bloodcurdling screech. Looking all around I could not tell anymore how many there were.

_"Oh my God." _I whispered.

I was trapped. My voice was lost as the cybugs closed in all around me. At this point I was desperate to get away. Realizing that I was not paralyzed, I tried to run. But when I tried to get up I couldn't. My foot was stuck in between the roots of the tree. Desperately I pulled to free my foot, but it was no use. One of the cybugs was almost upon me. It screeched loudly into my face. And in return I closed my eyes and let out a very loud scream, thinking that it was the end for me.

Then the screeching stopped, replaced by a rather loud roar. I opened my eyes to find that standing protectively in front of me was Ralph, facing the cybugs with his giant fists raised. The cybugs were taken by surprise from his sudden appearance. Then they charged towards us.

I couldn't help but watch. Ralph charged forward and sent a blow right into the nearest one. The cybugs were already surrounding him, but he put up a fight. He just kept hitting away at them, not faltering once, all while he somehow kept them away from me. I was very frightened but...he made me feel safe somehow.

As Ralph was lowering the cybug's numbers, suddenly there appeared another cybug from behind me. Frantic I tried to free my foot once more, but it was stuck tight. It let out a loud hiss, charging now towards me. Without warning I heard a loud thunder in the sky. I screamed as loud as I could.

_**WHAM!**_

Ralph's fist came right down on the cybug's head. It was so close that I could feel it. Shaking I shut my eyes, not wanting to see anymore. All I could hear was the pounding of Ralph's fists and the cybugs' screeches as they went down. I felt so dizzy that it made me feel sick. My heart was just about to burst. I did not know how much time had passed, but the world suddenly seemed so peaceful.

_"Lucy..."_

I heard a distant voice, but I could not tell who it was.

_"-human...wake up..."_

My eyes opened slowly. I still felt very much dizzy.

"Are you hurt?" the voice said.

Curious I opened my eyes a little wider. Suddenly when I found where the voice was coming from, I felt a whole lot better.

"Ralph..." I answered weakly looking up at him.

He gave me a small smile. "Are you alright?"

"I think so." I responded, "My foot's caught in the roots."

Without hesitation he reached out and broke the roots, finally freeing my foot. I stared at him in awe. _Amazing, I never knew he was so strong. _

"Can you stand?" he asked.

I nodded, slowly getting up on my feet. In the distance I heard thunder once more, but it was farther away than before.

_"Lucy!"_

I blinked and looked down as the little figures of Eve and Tobi came racing through the grass. I bent down and picked up Eve in my hand, Tobi climbing up onto my shoulder.

_"We're so glad you're okay." _Eve exclaimed, _"Tobi heard you screaming and we thought that you were in trouble. Luckily Tobi knew exactly where you were, so I hitched a ride with him."_

Tobi chirped at the mention of its name. I smiled and giggled at it, cheering me up a bit.

"Luckily _I_ was there to protect her."

I turned to Ralph and noticed that the worried expression on his face was replaced with a firm one.

Eve smiled, _"Well it's a good thing that you were there. Otherwise we wouldn't have found you guys."_

I said nothing but just stared at Ralph. _What's going on with him? It's like he's watching for..."_

A distant screech made me forget what I was thinking. Ralph's expression changed right then, his brow furrowing. Without warning he scooped me up in his arms, making me gasp suddenly. I found myself hanging on tightly when he jumped up to the nearest branch, climbing up the tall tree. For a moment I thought I saw his cheeks turn red, but I shook it off. _I must be seeing things._ Finally after a great deal of branches he finally stopped a few branches from the top. He then put me down gently onto the branch. I looked at him in awe, not knowing what to say.

Rain started to pour down, luckily the branch we were standing on had so many big leaves that shielding us from the rain. I suddenly felt very unhappy, remembering something that happened long ago.

_"That was fun! Let's do that again!" _Eve giggled. I smiled at her, shaking off the unhappy feeling. I looked back to Ralph who was turned away from us looking out into the rain.

"There are still out there." he said softly.

"You mean...the cybugs?" I asked curiously.

He nodded silently.

"Then...can't we just go back?"

He turned to look at me, "It's too dangerous. We must stay here for now."

_"AWW! Can't we go back?" _Eve whined,_ "I would like some of that fruit...oh what was it called? It was pinkish and soft like a sponge..."_

"A peach?" I responded.

_"Yeah that's it Lucy! A peach! I've always wanted to try one of those." _Eve crossed her arms in defeat sighing sadly. Tobi let out a sad chirp, shaking off some water that fell on it.

"What are the cybugs looking for?" I asked turning to Ralph. He was silent and still.

"For it-or Tobi." Ralph said pointing to the cybug.

_"Oh right, it's because the mom is looking for her baby." _Eve chimed in.

"Exactly."

Tobi chirped sadly once more, grabbing on closely to me. For some reason this time when it let out the chirp again, he spoke to me. Tobi was telling me something, and I could somehow _understand_ it.

_I don't want to go back, I want to stay here with you. Please..._

"Ralph...Tobi doesn't want to go back."

Both Eve and Ralph turned to me surprised.

I took a deep breath, "Tobi does not want to go back to its family." I clarified.

The two of them did not say anything but just stared at me like I was crazy. The rain splattered and dripped quietly against the leaves of the tree.

"How...do you know that?" Ralph asked after a long moment passed.

"Tobi told me."

Eve gasped, _"That's impossible! No one can understand a cybug, not even **our **kind." _

"Apparently _she _can." Ralph growled, suddenly frowning deeply. This scared me a little; _I had never seen him that mad before._

Turning away Ralph ascended up the rest of the way up the tree, leaving the three of us on the branch below. I watched him, feeling that somehow I had done something wrong.

_"Don't worry Lucy, he'll come around." _Eve reassured me patting my cheek, _"He's a bit tough to understand, but inside he's a big soft giant." _

"How do you know that?" I asked her.

Eve shrugged her shoulders, _"Well...somehow I just know." _

"I hope he does..." I paused, looking out into the rainy dark forest. The rain now picked up from a light sprinkle to a slight rain shower.

"You know...the view is beautiful from up here." I sighed and slowly sat down on the branch, leaning against the big tree trunk. Eve and Tobi sat closely to me as the three of us watched the rain come down.

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As I watched into the night I could not stop thinking about the human.

_"I knew she was different...but now she can talk to **cybugs**?!"_

I growled clenching my fists on the branch I held on to. Suddenly it broke in my hands. Dazed I looked at the broken branch in my hands. I sighed heavily in defeat. _I knew this was a bad idea to save her from the start..._

A sound made me jump and turn around. Lightning flashed in the distance, followed by a loud rumbling thunder.

The sound I heard was a small squeak that came from below. I looked closer and saw that it was only the human girl. She had apparently tried to climb up, but she was hanging on the branch and had lost her balance. I sighed, _"Why do I always have to save her? Humans are very helpless."_

I extended my hand to her. She quickly took it, and I pulled her up safely onto the branch. We were both silent, staring at each other. She clasped her hands tightly around her shivering arms. The girl was smiling, but I could tell there was something wrong with her.

"What are you doing up here?" I asked softly.

She was silent, not looking at me but still smiling weakly.

"I...couldn't sleep well." she whispered quietly.

We were both silent. I turned away from her listening for any sign of danger, as I always do. _This human...why do I let her get on my nerves?_

"Can I ask you something?"

I turned back to the human. Her smile had completely vanished now, replaced with an uneasy sadness. It was a human emotion that I was not comfortable with, since that lead to only darkness and despair. It was this sudden emotion from her that made me forget that I was even mad at her.

"What is it...?" I said insecurely.

The girl sighed and slowly lifted her eyes to me. Shockingly I looked at her sad face beginning to wet with tears. At this point, for some reason I felt sad for her, even though she was a human being.

"Have you ever...lost someone precious to you?" She said this in a serious tone, but I could tell right away her voice was choking in unhappiness.

"No."

Her eyes never wavered from me, "I...have lost someone...once."

The rain was starting to pour harder now. Thunder rolled in the far distance, and as it did the girl flinched, clasping her arms more tightly. I raised an eyebrow, curious about her reaction to the storm.

"You're not afraid of the thunderstorm are you?" I asked.

She nodded her head slightly in response.

"Why is that?"

She lowered her head once more.

"Because...that was when I lost my father."

I sat there in silence, shocked at what she had just told me. _Have you ever lost someone precious? _The words echoed in my mind like a ghost. The girl gave a heavy, sad sigh and looked back up at me.

"It was...on the night my father had died. I was twelve and still lived in Arcadian City. One night I had a bad dream on a stormy night like this." she pointed out into the thunderstorm in the distance, "Usually my father was late at work at this time of night, and only my mom was home. I went to find my mom, who was usually asleep at this time. But when I looked in where she slept, she wasn't there. I looked everywhere and I still couldn't find her."

Though the rain was pounding on her face, I could see that she was close to crying.

"I finally found my mom at the front door, with a dim light the only thing on. I saw...that my mom was...crying."

Her voice was shaking now. It was obvious she was trying to control herself from crying.

"And...I just stood there. I didn't understand how my mom felt until it was too late. She...she was devastated with my father gone; she had gotten sick and I'm the only one who has to take care of her! And no one understands what I go through everyday, I'm sick of having everyone looking down on me! _I hate it!" _

With that she broke down sobbing and crying. I did nothing but watch as she kept weeping in the cold rain. The girl made me feel something that scared me, now as I looked down at her sad face I wanted more than ever to do something.

Hesitantly I extended my big hand slowly to her shaking figure. "_What am I doing?"_ I asked myself, _"What am I...?"_

Reluctantly, I forced myself to put my hand on her trembling shoulder. The touch made my cheeks turn red once more, just like they had done when I carried her up here. I took a deep heavy breath.

"Lucy."

All at once the sobbing stopped, and I found myself looking at her straight on.

My reddened cheeks darkened.

She still had tears running down her cheeks, but the look she gave me was something I had never seen before. She looked at me like she was a curious, innocent child. I became nervous, forgetting what I was going to say. Then the words just came out slowly but all at once.

"Don't...look...back."

The girl raised her head a little more, the curious look growing on her face. This gave me confidence. _She's listening to me._

"Don't look back on the past." I bravely repeated, "The only...thing that matters...is...who you are right now."

She looked at me in pure awe and amazement. I was amazed at myself as well. _I never knew I had this much insight..._

"R-really?" the girl suddenly exclaimed, her voice still shaking.

My cheeks were really burning up red now, "Y-yeah." I stammered bashfully.

Her tears were returning to her eyes, but they weren't sad tears, but they were happy ones. Seeing this suddenly made me feel happy.

Then without warning she shot straight into me, pressing herself against me. My heart stopped right then. It was muffled but I heard her silently sobbing again, pressing her face against my chest. Slowly my hands acted on its own and started to close around the girl. I stopped when my hands were so close to the girl's body that even though I did not touch her, I could somehow feel her. In shock I had forgotten what the humans had called this sudden reaction. I pondered for answers in my mind, trying to find the answer to what the girl was doing.

I finally found it when I recovered myself from this sudden shock. It was simply what the humans called a _hug_. An embrace that comforts one human, or both that are in it.

Knowing what to do, I closed the last gap between my hands and the girl's body, giving her a warm embrace. She furrowed deeper into the embrace. The rain kept pouring down heavily as we sat still, the rain wetting me down to my skin.

After a long while we both let go. She had stopped sobbing long after we had hugged, and was now looking down once more. I looked away, my cheeks still glowing brightly red.

"Ralph?"

I slowly turned back to her, and found that she was smiling brightly.

"Thank you...for saving me." she said sweetly.

Feeling my red cheeks darkening again I turned away trying to avoid her staring at me curiously again. For some reason I was embarassed for her noticing my red cheeks before, and I didn't want that to happen again.

"You're welcome." I answered bashfully.

The cold rain had slowly stopped pouring and was now slightly showering again. I composed myself, the red in my cheeks slowly fading. When I looked back I saw her slightly shivering.

"I-it's a bit c-c-cold up here." she said smiling, her body shaking a bit more now.

Just then I felt a shiver go up through me. I shook slightly against the cold, the rain having dampened the weather.

"You're right. It is cold up here." I replied shaking.

She nodded in agreement, rubbing her hands on her arms to try to keep warm. We both looked down from the tree, knowing that we both wanted to get warmer. Without thinking about it once again I scooped her up in my arms and carefully made my ascent down. She held on to me tightly again, and I was careful not to drop her. I could slightly feel my cheeks turning red already. Finally the two of us made it back to the branches a few feet from the top, where Eve and Tobi were layed against the trunk sleeping.

I was about to put her down when I noticed that she had fallen asleep in my arms. I sighed at my luck and gently put her down next to her companions. As a precaution, I took a few of the big leaves hanging down from the branch below, and wrapped it around her like a blanket to keep her warm.

As I looked down on her, I could not help but smile at her. I knew that when humans were happy they will be okay. But this..._this was very different_. As I gazed at her, sleeping so peacefully, I suddenly felt my heart throb with an unusual feeling. I gasped silently, my hand flew up towards my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut, the throbbing intensifying until it finally calmed down, and was replaced with a steadied, warm pounding.

Opening my eyes I stared once more at the girl. As the rain steadily came down, I suddenly found myself asking: "_Is she the one who is making me feel like this?"_

My smile spread across my face. I already knew the answer.

With the warm pounding still beating in my heart, I climbed up to the branch just above the girl, and slowly fell into a deep slumber.

_She is truly a special girl after all. _

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**A/N**: And that the end to this long insane chapter. I'm glad I finished writing this, it was really tough to do. Reviews and helpful tips are always graciously accepted. See you next chapter!


	7. A Hollow Home

**A/N**: **Hey guys! Sorry for the long pause in uploading, I had a serious case of writer's block. I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. On that note, I will not be uploading chapters for a while for a few reasons. One: I have a lot of school work to do and it is almost the end of the semester so I'm going to need to focus on that. Second: My laptop is acting up again (this time though I need to re-install my software), so I won't be able to work on any chapters until it is fixed. It still works though, I just need to make sure my laptop works properly before I start a new chapter. **

**Don't worry though guys, I'm going to make a good chapter (or chapters) once my life gets a little easier. Until then, I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed this story so far, I will see you when I can!**

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Beyond The Page Chapter 7:

A Hollow Home

_ I could see nothing. All around me was nothing but black. It was if I had gone blind as I stumbled through the dark, trying to find my way out. _

_"Mom! Dad!" my voice reverberated through the emptiness, echoing back in whispers. _

_I kept stumbling along, my feet not moving as fast as I wanted them to. Suddenly all of the darkness around me fluttered away. I stopped and looked up at the sudden change that was happening. The darkness was replaced by a blinding white light that made me shield my eyes. Around me the emptiness was transformed. _

_Bright, colorful butterflies flew all around me as I felt a salty breeze blow onto my face. Waves lashed onto the shore of a white-sand beach, the sand as damp as the water itself. I looked to my left to see the familiar pathway leading to a familiar place called home. I ran down that path as fast as I could, my feet picking up speed as I got closer and closer to my only home that made me feel safe. _

_Up on the hill my feet suddenly stopped in their tracks. I saw my mother, standing just outside the house, watching in the distance. _

_"Mom!" I called to her. _

_She did not even glance at me as she still kept looking forward. _

_"Mom it's me, Lucy!" I called again waving my hands to get her attention. _

_Her green eyes hovered over to where I was standing. My heart fluttered with happiness, knowing that she finally noticed me. But then something happened that made my smile disappear. "Lucy...where are you?"_

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My eyes opened slowly to the morning sun shining through the leaves. I slowly lifted my arm to shield my eyes, still tired and wanting to sleep some more. But the sun would not give up so easily, so reluctantly I opened my sleepy eyes. The rains were all but gone now, replaced with a cool, morning air that hung there in the light. Huge dewdrops dripped off on the big leaves hanging on the branches of the tree.

I yawned and stretched my arms waking myself up. As I stretched I noticed that there was something covering me. I looked down at myself and saw I was covered with a few big leaves, covering me like a warm, thick blanket. I smiled and gently ran my hands along the leaves. Gently I tied the leaves together making it a nice little cloak. I wrapped it around my shoulders making sure it was on tight. I stood up on the branch, surveying the scene.

It was then I noticed that Eve and Tobi were not next to me. _"I wonder where Eve and Tobi went off to."_ I thought.

_"LUCY! ARE YOU AWAKE YET?!"_ I flinched realizing it was Eve's voice calling me."Yeah, I'm awake! Where are you guys?!" I shouted back. I looked around to see where the voice came from.

_"WE'RE DOWN HERE!"_ Eve called from below.

I looked down to see two very small figures far below by the tree. Eve waved up to me seeing that she got my attention. I hesistated on the thought of climbing down at first. _"It's been so long since I've clilmbed up trees. But...I guess I'll give it a go once more."_

"I'm coming down then!" I shouted down below.

I cautiously lowered my foot down onto the tree branch below me. Gingerly I put a little weight on it. The branch creaked a little, but did not show signs of breaking. Slowly I lowered myself down onto the awaiting branch. It creaked more under the full weight of my body, but still stayed glued to the tree trunk. The same went for the other branches as I made my way down. Finally I came to the last tree branch, just inches from the ground. Without testing the branch I put my whole weight on the branch at once. This time the branch did not creak, but snapped.

"EEP!" I yelped as I hit the ground hard, landing on my back. I groaned as I slowly sat up, rubbing the back of my head.

_"Are you okay Lucy?"_ Eve's voice echoed as she clamored onto one of my knees. Tobi was right behind her with worry in his eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine...ow! That hurt!" I groaned still rubbing the back of my head.

_"That was quite a nasty fall there."_ I gasped looking down at Tobi. He looked up at me with his bright green eyes.

_"Did-did you hear what it said?! It...**he** talked!"_ Eve exclaimed grabbing my knee.

_"Yes I can talk."_ Tobi replied calmly,_ "Cybugs are always able to talk, ever since we arrive here in the forest."_

"Arrived in the forest?" I said confused.

_"Yes. We were forced out of our old home and had to travel a long way."_

"Where is your home?" I asked.

_"It is in a land filled with nothing but swamps."_ Tobi replied, _"We thrive in dark and damp places, so it's not easy for us to live in lighted up places. When we were forced out of our home, this forest is the only closest place that is dark and damp to sustain us."_

I sighed sadly, feeling sorry for the poor baby cybug for going through so much.

_"There's still something I don't understand though."_ Eve responded, _"If you like dark and damp places, then why did you leave them to live in a light environment?"_

_ "Because I'm tired of living in the dark!"_ Tobi shouted sadly, _"Ever since I was born I wanted to find out what it would be like to live in the light of the sun. And now...I can with Lucy here!"_

I stared at the little cybug in awe, amazed of the confidence that he had to leave his family just like that.

"It was all because...of _me_?"

_"Yeah! Without you I would have still lived in the dark alone."_ Tobi chirped happily.

I giggled quietly to myself. I did not hear what the two of them were saying, because at the moment I thought that I saw something coming from the tree behind me. I sat up a little more, facing the tree fully in the light. It was a little different than the other trees that surrounded it, which was in the center of them all.

Curious, I quickly rose to my feet and trotted over to the base of the tree.

_"Lucy! A little help here?"_

I looked down at my knee realizing that Eve was still attached to it.

"Oops, I'm sorry! Here, take my hand." I lowered my hand to my knee. Eve hopped on as clung onto my thumb as I lifted her up to my level. I placed her on my shoulder safe and sound.

Eve panted a little, _"Next time, warn me first if you're planning to get up and run somewhere."_

I laughed lightly, patting Eve gently. Tobi chirped, laughing lightly along with me as he made his way to us.

"I will, don't worry." I told Eve.

I looked around at the other trees. They were almost as tall as the tree in the center, but not quite.

"These trees looked like they were here for thousands of years." I said aloud.

"That's because they are thousands of years old."

I turned around to my surprise, only to see that it was Ralph. Tobi immediately hid behind my feet, no doubt afraid of Ralph for trying to smash him.

I looked up at him, wondering where he had gone. He outstretched his big hand to me, holding onto something. I looked closer to see it was the bag that I had left in the clearing.

_"That's right! I almost forgot that I left my things in the clearing when-"_

I stopped myself, remembering the events that happened last night. I felt my cheeks warm up almost instantly as I recalled the conversation I had with Ralph in the thunderstorm. Slowly I took the bag from Ralph's outstretched hand. I clung onto it safely not wanting to let it go for a third time.

"What is this place?" I muttered softly.

"Well...this-this is where I live I guess." Ralph chuckled nervously.

"Really?" I walked a little more toward the tree in the middle. At a closer look, the tree was indeed different from the rest. It looked as if it was an empty shell of a tree. I frowned, not understanding why the tree looked so weird. I put my ear against the tree and slowly raised my hand up to the bark of the tree. Softly I tapped the tree a few times. To my surprise the sound I heard was deep and resonating. _The tree was hollow!_

"Lucy?"

I turned back to Ralph who was shifting a little nervously.

"Do...you want to see it...where I live?" he asked shyly.

I stared at him curiously, then I looked back at the hollow tree. _I wonder if...this is where he lives?_

"Sure, I'd love to see it!" I smiled turning back to Ralph.

He didn't respond, but looked back at me as if he was surprised with what I said. It was soon replaced with a more firm expression.

"Then you probably want to stand back."

I looked back at the hollow tree realizing I was close to it still. I took a few steps backwards as Ralph made his way past me to the hollow tree. Tobi followed closely behind me, still keeping space between him and Ralph. Ralph came up to the base of the tree, putting one big hand onto the trunk. He went all the way around the tree, running his hand around the trunk. He went around a second time, his hands running along the bark of the tree.

"Eve, what's he doing?" I whispered.

Eve looked up at me, her expression saying "I don't know," and shrugged her shoulders.

Finally Ralph stopped where he had started, knocking on the wood of the trunk firmly twice. This time I heard the resonating sound again, but it was much louder than before. Then I heard a creaking sound come from the place where Ralph had knocked. But now...it was_ moving_! It slowly opened to reveal a dark, gaping hole in the tree that led inside.

I stared dumbfounded at the empty space where the part of the trunk just was. I could not find the words to say how amazing it was. _I never knew this place was..._

"Well...what are you waiting for? Go on in, it's alright."

Ralph smiled warmly as he gestured his hand towards the empty space.I hesitated, looking into the big gaping mouth of a hollow door. I clutched the bag closer to me wondering what lay beyond the dark doorway. Nervously, I finally stepped a few steps towards the opening still baffled by the sheer size of the doorway. I peeked inside the dark hole but could not see anything. Worried I looked back at Ralph. He only just smiled at me warmly.

"It's okay, go on." he told me calmly.

I took a small, shaky breath. Very slowly I stepped inside the hollow tree. To my surprise it there was much more room on the inside than on the outside. It was beautiful in every way possible.

"Whoa!" I gasped, a smile slowly growing on my face.

The tree wasn't hollow just on the ground, _the whole tree was hollow_. The ceiling stretched all the way to the top of the tree. A warm light vaguely shined down through the top down to the bottom. It was a very simple space, there was not much furniture or multiple rooms, but it was all just one big room. The floor beneath me was made not out of wood like regular houses, but it was still made out of grass. It tickled my ankles, swaying in the breeze that came from outside.

"I-It's not much." I heard Ralph saying as he stepped inside as well, "I mean...it's the only place here I've got and-"

"I love it."

I turned to him and smiled. Ralph was taken aback, a surprised expression went across his face.

"You...you do?" he asked me softly, his cheeks having gone red.

To my surprise I found myself taking his hand in mine, still smiling up at him. I nodded my head slightly.

"Yeah." I answered.

I let go of his hand and looked back to the hollow home. The morning sun was still shining down inside, brightening the room in warm light.

_"This is a really nice place."_ Eve said standing now on my shoulder.

Tobi chirped happily at my feet, _"It sure is bright and sunny. I think I like this place."_

I smiled down at Tobi, bending down to pat his head. I still clutched onto my bag tightly as my pat turned into petting Tobi's head. My smile grew bigger as Tobi moved closer to my feet.

I looked around once more, taking the scene all in. That was when I noticed that Ralph was keeping his distance from me. This seemed strange to me, but I thought nothing of it shaking the thought out of my head.

"So...how long have you lived here?" I asked him.

"For as long as I can remember, I guess." he replied.

"Have you lived here by yourself? It must be lonely."

Ralph did not answer, turning away from me suddenly. Right then I knew that he did not have any friends. _It was as if he was hollow...empty. Just like his home._

"I...have been alright by myself." he quietly growled, "I did not need company...because no one would visit a creature like me."

We were both silent as the light from the morning sun dimmed inside the house.

"But...you look like a human though...one of my kind." I said in almost a whisper.

Tobi and Eve looked up at me in horror. I looked at them, taken aback at their reaction. Their looks told me that what I said was bad, really bad. And that was when I wished I had taken back what I said.

"Your _kind_...are the ones that want to destroy _MY_ FOREST!" he shouted angrily.

With that he stormed right out, his hands clenched tightly into fists. He slammed the hollow door hard, making it shutter.

I found myself sobbing, tears coming down my cheeks. Eve noticed this and tried to comfort me.

_"It's okay Lucy..."_

"IT'S NOT OKAY!" I shouted at her.

Eve flinched, taken aback by my outburst. I realized that I had scared her, so I gave her a warm smile.

"I'm sorry Eve." I sniffled wiping the tears from my eyes. I put my hand around her holding her close to me.

She pressed into the side of my neck deepening the warm comfort. We stayed that way for a few moments. The grass moved slightly under my feet as the tree creaked in the breeze outside. After a while I looked back at the door that Ralph had stormed out of.

"Why does he hate us so much? What did I ever do to him to make him feel this way?"

Eve patted the side of my neck, _"It's not your fault Lucy. As a child he was abused by other humans because he was different from the rest. Because he was special."_

I looked at Eve, curiosity filling up my being once again.

_"Before becoming The Guardian of the Forest, he was a human just like you."_

"He...was human before?"

_"Yes. And mankind treated him as a monster, a freak of nature. So he ran away from the human world, promising himself never to return. Promising that he would do whatever it takes to make sure the human race never destroys his forest."_

I looked back at the wooden door. _"So that's why he is so distant from me. He must not trust me yet."_

I took a few steps toward the door, grasping my bag very tightly. I put one hand upon the door, and gave it a firm push. It creaked open slowly and loudly.

_"Lucy!"_

I turned to look at Eve. She gave me a worried look, that she did not want me to go confront Ralph at all.

"I have to talk to him." I firmly said, "I want to know...more about him."

Eve stared at me intently for a long time. Tobi looked at us still, not moving from where I left him.

_"You are a good light."_ Eve finally spoke, _"A light that can bring out the good side to everything."_

She patted my neck once more, then she swiftly jumped off my shoulder onto the grassy floor below.

_"You better be careful then, his temper can flare a lot easier with humans than with fairies."_

I smiled down at her and Tobi as they stood there watching me go.

"I'll be careful. Besides..." I smiled as I stepped outside the hollow tree house, "...he won't hurt me, because I know he will always protect me."

I walked outside heading out to find where Ralph had stormed off too.

_"I just hope that he really isn't angry with me."_


End file.
